


Behind Enemy Lines

by dellanarn



Series: As Golarion Turns [2]
Category: Glass Cannon Podcast
Genre: Agender Character, Gen, they/them pronouns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 14:13:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10878474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dellanarn/pseuds/dellanarn
Summary: this is just some bs, i had a lot of feels after this ep. doesn't really follow canon too closely





	Behind Enemy Lines

Rowan pressed their hand to their temple and pushed in, rubbing to relieve some of the pain. It didn’t work of course, it never worked, but as they brought their hand down the noticed some blood on their fingertips. Bringing it to their nose, a quick sniff recognized it as not their own, but from the pregnant marsh giant they’d dragged inside the tent. Sighing again, they looked around the room. Della and Will had both noticed a pearl on the belly of the pregnant marsh giant, but Will beat Della to it, and snatched it up, looking rather proud of himself. Della looked furious, but then, she had every right to be. What did Will need this magical pearl for, since he has seemingly lost his powers? Of course, he’s acting like a child, trying to one-up Della since he blames her for his lost powers, even though he’d asked for the demon’s blood. _Should I have tried to stop her from doing it?_ Rowan mused to themself, _Or did I trust Will to be an adult? Was that wrong of me?_

They glanced towards the other argument in the room. Nestor and Umlo were arguing about a potion. They’ve both been feeling down, but Nestor had gotten the last two potions. It did seem fair to give it to Umlo. After all, he did cut off his own hand for this. Rowan glanced at Barron, but he seemed focused on reloading his gun, though with closer inspection he was keeping an eye on the spat, apparently not going to step in unless it turned violent.

“-gutter trash!”

“Shut up. How about I just kill you, right now?”

Barron was now fully focused on Nestor and Umlo. Umlo continued ranting, his thick accent growing rougher as he got more heated. Nestor made one more quip and then downed the potion, letting out a dramatic “ahh” and smacking hip lips. Umlo looked about ready to actually kill him. Rowan grabbed Barron’s gaze, silently asking him what to do. Barron is the Sheriff after all, and thee unofficial leader. Barron shook his head and finished loading his gun, cocking it before putting it back in its holster.

Rowan looked around the room once more. Umlo was about to grab his spear, Heartspit, and Della had just chugged a flask of demons blood and threw it at Will’s feet for god knows what reason. They pinched the bridge of their nose again. _Guess it’s up to me._

“Alright, everyone- shut the fuck up and listen, now,” Rowan growled, tiring of the arguments. They all stopped. With the exception of Della and Barron, none of them have heard Rowan truly angry before. “This infighting needs to stop. We are deep within enemy lines, I can’t have you quarreling like children! This is unacceptable. First off, Barron, this is your fucking job to control these idiots, not mine. I’m here for one reason and one reason only.”

Barron opened his mouth to reply but Rowan cut him off. “No, nobody fucking talks til I’m done. Understand?”

Rowan didn’t wait for anyone to reply, instead focusing their glare at Della. “Della. Will specifically asked you not to give him the blood under any circumstances. Clearly, he is not used to this type of mission, and isn’t thinking straight. When you make somebody a promise, you keep it, understand?”

“But I asked him more than once if he really wan-” Rowan cut Della off. “What did I say? No. One. Talks.” Rowan cleared their throat after the outburst, trying not to feel bad about Della’s wide eyes. 

“Under no circumstances are you to give it to him again, even if that means his death. Understand?”

Della nodded once. Satisfied with this, Rowan turned to her next target, Will, who was crouching in the corner looking very sad for himself. He turned when Rowan called his name, only to flinch at the angry expression on their face. 

“Will. How dare you! How dare you act like a child! This is as much your fault as it is Della’s, and you need to be looking for a solution rather sulking in a corner and having petty fights over loot! And I’m going to be brutally honest with you. Without your powers, you’re not much use to us. Fix this before we leave you behind.”

“Hey now,” Barron said, looking between Rowan and an increasingly upset Will. “We’re not leaving anybody behind-”

“We might have to,” Rowan said. “This is war now. It’s us versus hundreds of them. Stealth and killing whoever notices us is the only thing that’s going to save us. As he is right now, he’s only slowing us down, and slowing down means death for all of us. If sacrificing one could save everyone, then it’s not a hard choice to make, is it?”

“Well, I’d have to agree with you there, love,” Nestor started, much more interested in this turn of events, but Rowan had had enough.

“Shut the fuck up Nestor. You’re fucking next!” Rowan whirled around to face him. When had they gotten comfortable enough to have their back towards him? “I can’t believe you took that potion! Actually, I can fucking believe it because you’re a huge piece of shit. Umlo is a front line fighter who has been very weak ever since those wights-”

Nestor interrupted them. “Well, yeah, but so ‘ave I-” Rowan almost screamed at him, but remembered where they were and took a breath to calm themself.

“But you’re not a front line fighter. And, you’ve had the last two bouts of healing and Umlo didn’t say a damn word! It’s only fair that he gets the next three, you know that right?”

Umlo looked rather pleased at that and crossed his arms, smugly looking at Nestor to see his reaction. Nestor scoffed and put a hand on his chest. “‘Scuse me? I’m a much better fighter-” Umlo uncrossed his arms and looked ready to deck him. Rowan held up their hand before continuing, voice trembling with rage. “Listen to me. I’m not done. No one else speaks. The next to speak loses his tongue.”

It was eerily quiet after that. They all looked at Rowan, waiting. “Thank you. Nestor, share your things. Next three restoration magicks go to Umlo. End of story.” Rowan turned to Umlo, who looked rather apprehensive and actually took a half step back.

“Umlo. You were right to be angry, but raising your voice while in a camp surrounded by hundreds of giants is a bad idea. Never do it again.” Umlo nodded and looked at his feet, dropping Rowan’s gaze. They then turned to Barron. 

“Barron. You are the Sheriff, and you are now the leader of this group and that means more than giving orders on which direction to go. You have to force these people to work as a team. You have to force them to get along, just for now.” Rowan looked at everyone in the room, and addressed the group. 

“When we leave this godforsaken place, we never have to see each other again, but for now this pettiness and arguing like children is only going to get all of us killed. Do you all understand?” Rowan looked everyone in the eye, waiting for a nod of acknowledgement before moving on. When everyone had agreed, they sighed before looking to Barron. 

“Sheriff, your call. What happens next?” Barron recognized his cue and stood a little straighter, and started giving orders. After healing was taken care of, he and Nestor would go look at the next tent over to make sure it was empty, and then they would all rest here, in the tent with the dead, pregnant giant and the dead oni. Lovely.

When Barron and Nestor left the tent, Rowan took stock of their surroundings. Will had gone back to his corner, and was holding Lexington’s head in his lap, stroking the wolf’s ears gently. Della had found what looked to be the Oni’s grimoire, and was furiously scribbling something into her own spellbook. Umlo, practical Umlo, was trying to drag the Oni’s body next to the other giant, trying to make space for all of them. Rowan decided that Umlo had the right idea and went to help him. With the both of them, they managed to move the Oni’s body into the corner, along with the table to make more room for them all to sleep. It seemed the Oni didn’t just practice in this tent, but lived in it as well, as there were some giant sized blankets and pillows, with Rowan and Umlo spread out onto the floor, making something of a giant sleeping nest for all of them. Which, while that's probably going to be rather uncomfortable to be so close together, they could share warmth more easily.

After they’d put their finishing touches on the nest, Umlo stood and stared making his way towards the entrance of the tent. Rowan stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Where are you going?” they asked.

“I’m going to take first watch. You get some rest,” Umlo said, looking at the blood on their head. Rowan shook their head pulling Umlo gently back down in the blankets. “This?” they pointed at their head. “This isn’t my blood. And you’re dead on your feet. Let me look at your wounds, and then get some rest. I’ll take first watch.” 

Umlo tried to get up again but Rowan was having none of it. They pulled him back down, a bit rougher this time. Umlo let out an ‘oof!’ when he hit the ground, and Rowan winced. “Sorry. Now let me look at you.” Mumbling a quick spell, Rowan’s hands lit up green, and they slowly waved them over Umlo’s body, closing wounds and healing fractures. Umlo let out a sigh of relief, letting the magic wash over him.

“Thank you, lass,” Umlo said, his brogue thicker than usual as he began to close his eyes, trying to fight over the wave of tiredness that overcame him. “And thank you for standing up for me.”

Rowan hummed as they finished up healing a nasty gash on his leg. “Don’t mention it. Guy’s a right cunt.”

Umlo laughed as he lay back all the way, settling in a corner of the nest. “Right you are lass,” he closed his eyes, mumbling his next words. “Be careful...” Umlo was dead asleep in seconds. Rowan smiled at him, this rough dwarf with his Scottish accent (which was weird. Why is there always a scottish accent?) who reminded them of Seb- Rowan shook their head, not wanting to think his name. That was over with. They were here now, where he didn’t even exist. They were doing this crazy suicide mission for Gelabrous. 

Rowan sat back on their heels and looked at the other occupants of the tent. Nestor and Barron had not returned yet, and Della still had her nose in that grimoire. Rowan stood up and walked over to Will, sitting in front of him. He looked up at them, then back down to Lexington, who from this distance Rowan could hear him whimpering every so often. Rowan’s face fell, as they realized that without his powers, Will couldn’t use any healing spells or any magical wands. They held their hands out over Lexington hesitantly, trying to catch Will’s eye. “May I?” Rowan asked quietly.

Will met Rowan’s gaze and nodded once, slowly. He looked lost and heartbroken, and smaller than Rowan had ever seen him. Rowan knew in their mind that Will was an adult and truly not that much younger than them, but the way his shoulders hunched and the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks- he reminded them so much of Evan that their heart broke. Suddenly blinking back tears of their own, Rowan said the incantation and their hands glowed green, slowly moving their hands over Lexington, occasionally speaking another spell to boost or adjust their healing, not used to using such treatments on wolves. Eventually, Lexingtons tail began to wag and he sat up. He looked Rowan directly in the eye, seeming to say “thank you.” He then began to lick Will’s face.

Laughing, he pushed Lexington away. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, my friend!” Will’s efforts to keep Lexington away did nothing to deter the wolf. He tried instead to climb into Will’s lap, even though he was twice the size. But he must’ve hit an injury of Will’s, as the halfling hissed and pushed against Lexington again, who got the hint this time and laid down next to his master, looking back at Rowan as if to say “his turn now.”

Rowan had yet to dispel their healing magic, and offered their hands to Will. ‘Will, would you allow me to help you?” Will stared at their hands hesitantly, then back at Rowan’s face. 

“Do petty children deserve healing?” Will asked suddenly, dropping his gaze to the floor. Now he really did look like Evan, blonde hair falling in front of his face. Rowan dispelled their magic, gently grabbing Will by the chin and forcing him to look them in the eye. They held his gaze, searching his face and only finding sadness and remorse, the anger having washed away. 

“Will, I’m sorry I called you a child. That was unfair of me. But you remind me so much of my son, that I’ve started acting more like your parent and less like your comrade and friend.”

“What is his name?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Your son. What is his name?”

Rowan’s cheeks flushed, and they hoped he couldn’t see it in the dim lighting. They had got so caught up in his eyes they hadn’t heard what he said. They quickly dropped their hand from his face. “Oh. Um, Evan. His name is Evan.” 

Will flashed them a brilliant smile. “That’s a strong name, Evan. I like it.” He scratched the back of his neck, a move Rowan realized by now was out of nerves. He often did it when talking to Della. “I, um, wasn’t aware you had any children.”

“Oh, I have four.”

“I’m sorry?”

“They’re all adopted. Their mother died while giving birth to the youngest, and I’ve just been looking out for them. It’s been three years now, and I consider them my own.” Rowan said quickly. They haven’t told this to anyone except Gelabrous. Why are they pouring their heart out now, to Will of all people? They’re not particularly close. Rowan looked at Will again. He was smiling at her, his cheeks dimpling. How cute, Rowan thought.

“Thank you for telling me. I take this is not something you’ve shared with the rest of the group?”

Rowan nodded. “Yeah. My private life is....private, for lack of a better word. I’d rather this stayed between us, okay?”

Will held out his hand and Rowan shook it. “I promise I will not tell a soul.”

Rowan smiled at him. He was always so earnest in the way he spoke, he truly did wear his heart on his sleeve. “I believe you. Now, can I look at your injuries?”

Will dropped his hand and nodded, sitting up straight. Rowan cast the spell again, and began slowly waving it over his body. He seemed mostly fine, but Rowan noticed that one of his ribs was broken.

“One of your ribs is broken. I’m going to have to touch it to actually heal it,” Rowan looked Will in the eye and waited til he nodded his consent before continuing. Dispelling the magic, Rowan reached toward his side and began undoing the leather armor. After some adjusting and having Will hold his arms above his head, they managed to get it off. Rowan pulled at his undershirt, freeing it from his breeches and rolling it up past his ribs, where they instructed Will to hold it so Rowan could heal his rib. There was a massive bruise on his side, which unfortunately Rowan could do nothing about. Murmuring the Arcanum, Rowan’s hands lit up again as they pressed their hand against the broken rib, causing Will to flinch. Rowan’s other hand came around to his back holding him steady as a stream of Arcanum boosted the power of the magic, briefly illuminating the tent before extinguishing. Rowan dropped their hands and sat back on their heels, looking at Wil expectantly. “How does that feel?”

Will looked down at his chest and pushed experimentally on the bruise. “Sorry,” Rowan said, as he looked back up at the curiously. “I can’t heal bruises. Just an odd quirk of my magic, I guess.” 

Will took a deep breath in and dropped his shirt. “Well, it doesn’t hurt to breathe, so I’m feeling much better,” he was smiling but it dropped from his lips and he looked her in the eye. “Thank you. Truly.”

Rowan met his gaze. “You’re welcome. Now, c’mon, let’s get you to bed. You need your sleep.”

Will cocked an eyebrow. “Going to tuck me in?”

Rowan sputtered and their face felt like it was on fire. He could definitely see it now. “N-no! I just met- Um, I was just trying to-”

Will held up his hand as he tried to stifle his laughter. “I’m only joking with you. Are you taking first watch?”

Rowan cleared their throat and tried to gain some semblance of a professional tone. “Y-yes. And Barron will take second watch, so you just worry about getting some shut eye, okay?” 

Will winked at her and stood up, motioning for Lexington to follow him towards the nest. “Yes ser.”

Rowan made a split decision (classic Rowan.) and grabbed for Will’s arm, stopping him. “Will?”

He turned back towards them, head cocked to the side. “Yes, Rowan?”

Rowan let go of his arm, awkwardly dropping theirs into their lap. It took them a minute to find their words, opening their mouth and then closing it. They met Will’s eyes again, but he wasn’t bothered. He stood there patiently, waiting for them to speak. 

“What I said earlier- about leaving you behind,” Rowan said, slowly picking out their words so they didn’t screw this up too. “I wouldn’t-I mean, you must understand-”

Will held up a hand. “I know. There is no need to say anything.”

Rowan sighed heavily through their nose. “No, I do need to say something. I wouldn’t do that, and it was wrong of me to say such a thing. No man left behind, no matter what,” Rowan sat up straight and looked Will in the eye, to make sure that he understood how serious they were about this. “I’m sorry.”

Will crossed his arms, head cocking again. “Why did you say it then?”

“I...I was angry.”

“At me?”

“No. Yes. I was angry at everyone, and I said some things I didn’t mean.”

Will’s lips curled up into a smirk. “So....you were feeling...petty?”

Rowan dropped their head to the ground, looked back up at Will, then shifted their gaze to the wall, before nodding in defeat. Rowan could feel Will grinning at them, but they weren’t quite ready to look at him again. 

“I am glad that you can be honest with yourself,” Will said cockily, which made Rowan roll their eyes before smiling at him. Will’s face turned more serious as he stood up straighter and lost the smile. “I thank you for your apology. It means a lot to me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to pray before I rest for the night- well, I suppose day now. Goodnight, Rowan.”

Rowan returned the goodnight before Will turned and once again motioned for Lexington to follow him to the nest, where he sat down with his legs crossed, eyes closed and began to pray. Lexington laid down behind him, watching his back and provided some comfort. He could tell not all was right with Will, even if he didn’t know how to fix it. 

Rowan sighed again. Tonight had been one of the longest nights of their life, and they were including Lastwall. Unfortunately it wasn’t over yet, as they had only managed to talk to two of the party, and still had three to go.

**Author's Note:**

> truly i hope you didnt read this but if you did then thank you, i appreciate it. writing is something i've been wanting to get back into but my only muse is this, so here i am.


End file.
